House of Sayerburn
The Ducal House of Sayerburn (Sefenlander: Duqxou Saiarlafar) are the ruling house of the ducal seat of Calthoss' Cave in the Arm of Crahia. The House of Sayerburn keeps the Faith of the Calthoss the Dragon-Beneath-this-Earth, a variant sect of the Faith of Calthoss the Shadow & the Shine, and were supposedly finded by escaped dragontending slaves from Sayerthenn, who fled to Lafafarro, where they grew wealthy by breeding dragons (including such breeds as: Knight Raptors, Crashing Comets, and Burdenkeepers), trading spices, and by fielding heroes, strongmen, and great generals in Sefenlander wars for conquest. Lady Aba Sayerburn was targeted by the Faith of the Dragon-Beneath-this-Earth because of her abolitionism, as well as her secret interests in magicks. The House thereafter was blessed by the anomalous nature of the faith, and it became infamous for its use of glamours, assassinations, and arcane rituals. All the while slavery became practically unheard of in Lafafarro. After Billow's Rebellion, the House of Sayerburn provided monetary aid to the Coldlands, and waged the Lavafarer War against its mother empire. Billow rewarded them with land in the Arm of Crahia, which would of course later become the duchy of Calthoss' Cave. They built an enormous underground complex in a preexisting, and not yet exhausted gold mine. Its walls are full of dragon, mammoth, and giant bones. The House glamoured their seat away from view whilst the Sefenlands occupied the Delkish Continent, and once again appeared following the Deylki-Sefenlander War. In the new Delkish Empire they were awarded with the title of duke, as well as with a few intermarriages into the imperial House of Messoloriha. They are notable for being the most prominent Delkish House of mostly Sefenlander origin. They are traditionally blond, with what are described as green-gold eyes (hazel eyes with strong hints of yellow and gold), and tan skin. Their women are famously beautiful, and their men famously strong. As followers of a foreign faith, the House of Sayerburn governed Armia with relatively lax religious laws, making it an attractive location for followers of various faiths to immigrate to, including followers of Anasia, Iksas, the Mother Sphinx (the Arm was once home to more ethnic Sefenlanders than even the Delkish Sefenlands), Freedmon, and the Faith of the Four Gods of Nature. This immigration had all but halted following 36th and 29th, as radioactive fallout blew down over the Arm from the Ayelands. All but the poorest villages had been completely evacuated in the century following these events, and the people fled into Crahia. Irradiated fellows and cancermen abound in the Arm. There had always been rumors that the House of Sayerburn first attained its wealth through forbidden magicks, and their foreign, mysterious origins as Sefenlanders made them easy to hate in a world ruined by the Sefenlands after 36th. The House of Sayerburn holed up in Calthoss' Cave, their vast underground complex, and decided to silently wait out the end of the world. Then Beyoss came about. He was a military man, who had spent years as part of the secret Slayers' Guild. There he learned discipline, and how to manage resources, and with this knowledge and experience, he ended the famine in the Arm, and guaranteed some shelter to all Armans. The cancer colony of Metas Nova Mel was then constructed. In secret however, hundreds if not thousands of people were poisoned so as to not be a drain on resources. New trade deals were organized with the dukedoms to the west, all the while Ristt Blott the boy-King was beginning his tenuous reign in Crowtonne. Beyoss met Ristt Blot shortly thereafter at Erzwife. Although he swore his fealty to the boy-King, he knew from very early on that the young man's zealotry would one day become a problem. In the chaos of the 80s and 90s, Beyoss began preparing for a future rebellion which involved strengthening relations with the Face, the Damlands, and the Bightlands. In secret, the dukes all began stockpiling weapons. Their near-ruination nearly came about because of Halos Sayerburn, the lowest of the low amongst one of their worst generations, one that would breed such foul folk as Halos, Majkal Sayerburn (a rapist), Billow Sayerburn, (arguably) Calthoss Sayerburn, and Grygorey Sayerburn, King Ristt Blot's master-torturer. Halos was a lustful man who slept with many hundreds of women in his time. He fathered countless bastards, including Billow, and Gebel Snakepit. He fathered but one trueborn child, Calthoss, whom he loved dearly. He also loved Billow, and would have loved Gebel. Halos was not an evil man, but instead a weak one. He was repentant before his god, but did not have the moral fiber nor the ability to commit to one woman, or to stop using sugar, or to stop drinking wine. Beyoss tried desperately to impart discipline, and care in his son Halos, but he was never able. Eventually a combination of Halos' weak parenting, Nari Sayerburn, pre-existing psychological conditions in Billow, and the casual racism displayed by Duke Beyoss, and the nobility of the Arm, led to Billow killing most of his house. Calthoss was the most-prominent survivor. Majkal also survived, but was from a lesser branch. Emperor Gattos Eres briefly occupied Calthoss' Cave as the Alchemist of Destruction, and revealed the truths of Duke Beyoss' policies to the world. Majkal was killed by being transmuted into his base elements, and his soul shattered to white dust. Shortly before her death, Vayess Halfloriha proposed elections in the Arm for a governorship. Calthoss ran, but lost out to a man from Farro. She gracefully handed over power in the form of a tall, arm-shaped brazier, which she lit. It later became the symbol of the Arm. Category:History Category:Houses